Business Directories

Demand for energy professionals on rise

London, September 3, 2013

The drive towards extracting oil and gas reserves from unconventional sources such as shale is putting more pressure on the global energy sector to hire experienced people with the right skills, said a report.

The Global Oil and Gas Workforce Survey entitled ‘Expectations for hires and pay rates in the oil and gas industry (H2) 2013’ was conducted by OilCareers.com, the international jobs board for the oil and gas industry, and partner Air Energi, a global provider of manpower solutions to the energy sector.

The survey highlights that energy policy, particularly surrounding natural shale gas exploration, features high on the agenda for governments and an increased focus on the critical skills shortage, as investment increases around the world, will be paramount.

Estimates suggested that the UK alone will require in excess of 120,000 skilled personnel over the course of the next decade to fully realise the renewed investment in the North Sea and recent shale discoveries.

Mark Guest, managing director of OilCareers.com, said: “As the focus of the energy industry turns to Aberdeen and Offshore Europe this week, it is clear that attracting today’s highly mobile workforce has never been more pertinent or more challenging given the intense global competition for talent.”

Across Europe competition for talent remains fierce as Norway begins to offset declining North Sea production with complex exploration of the Arctic region.

“This competition for a technologically skilled and mobile workforce is expected to yield a rise in salaries with the survey results showing that more than 60 per cent of all respondents expect levels of pay to increase globally,” said Guest.

“As in previous years, Europe remains a candidate-driven market with a lack of sufficient skills available across the region. In part, this is caused by the ageing population of the oil and gas workforce creating a widening gap in mid-level jobs, and the lure of expat salaries and lifestyles from international projects, particularly in Australia.”

While 23 per cent of respondents identified the on-going skills shortage as the over-riding threat to the oil and gas industry, initiatives are evolving to bring new people into the sector, said the report.

“Training and development will play a major role in determining whether or not the industry can curb its skill shortage with the increased investment in this area over the first half of 2013 an encouraging start to what is a global challenge,” added Guest.

The survey covered all seven major oil and gas producing regions – Europe, Middle East, the Former Soviet Union-Caspian (FSU), Africa, Asia-Pacific, Australasia and the Americas - highlighting both salary and hiring trends across the industry. - TradeArabia News Service